"Guys? I think we need to leave.", Willow leans back into the room, where the other members of CATS are still busy discussing. As she talks, all eyes turn to her, followed by a moment of silence.
"I think she's right.", Raine speaks up, "We should get out of town. We need a base outside. I suggest we-"
"No.", Willow exclaims, correcting herself, "I'm talking about Gus and me. They managed to get his dad, and I really need to get my parents to safety, wherever that may be."
"That-", Liwin speaks up before shaking her head, "You kids are done for the day. You've done great work today. Skara?"
"My parents are on a business trip. They're safe...", she says before her eyes meet Willow's. On the one hand, the bard witch would like to stay, on the other... "I'll come with you.", she decides. Her gaze searches Liwin's for confirmation, whereupon she nods briefly. Skara gets up and walks over to Willow.
"Take care of each other.", Liwin tells them, "We'll think about what we can do and let you know."
Willow and Skara give her a firm nod before returning to Gus, who is sitting quietly weeping on one of the chairs. Skara's heart breaks when she watches Willow approach him and he immediately reaches out to her, hugging her with all his might.
"You can stay with me.", Willow tries to comfort her friend before slowly turning her gaze to Skara, "That goes for both of you."
Skara only manages to nod slightly.
"Do you know which way we have to go?", Skara wonders.
"I'll see when we get down. I'll use the roots to get my bearings."
"What are you talking about?", Gus suddenly speaks up, slowly detaching himself from Willow and drying his cheeks with his sleeve.
"You'll see in a minute.", Willow replies before getting her staff ready and sitting on it. "Get on. You're flying with me."
Gus looks at her in utter confusion. Mainly because they are still inside Liwin's clinic, and he suspects they have no intention of leaving through the main entrance. Intrigued, he climbs onto Willow's staff. Skara has also mounted her own staff.
The three of them hover a little higher off the ground, getting closer to the ceiling. The two staffs float closer together and Willow hooks onto Skara's arm.
"Gus, hold on tight.", she orders him before applying a spell to her and Skara's staff. Both staffs start to glow green. Both tilt forward quite steeply, aimed directly at the holes in the ground.
"I don't like where this is going..."
"Skara, on three. One. Two. Three!", Willow counts down before Gus squeezes his eyes shut and they pick up speed rapidly, plunging into the ground.
"Gus, you can open your eyes again.", Skara whispers to him after a couple seconds, a slight chuckle in her voice.
There was no impact, he knows that much. And he doesn't feel dead either. He hears the rustling of leaves and the movement of roots, and he is still clinging tightly to his best friend. He risks a glance.
"Whoa...", he marvels, "Where are we?"
"Welcome to the underground. Literally.", Willow explains, "I just discovered this spell by accident too. Didn't think it would have worked originally."
"Well, I never doubted you.", Skara remarks.
"Sure.", Willow rolls her eyes, a smile on her face. "We're almost there. Skara, do you want to get some things from your house?"
"No, thanks. I don't need anything.", she lies. In truth, she just doesn't want to leave her friends alone.
"Okay. Then we'll have to slow down a bit and go up quite steeply. We'll come out in my front garden.", Willow explains. Skara nods and does as she is told.
They pull their staffs up steeply and only seconds later they find themselves no longer surrounded by leaves and roots as they break through a layer of grass and flowers that Willow's dad has planted in their front garden. The three of them shoot out of the ground at a still high speed and are forced to make a high turn to slow down. As they come around and see what's happening below them, Willow's stomach drops.
"DADS!", she yells in shock. Because instead of being safe inside the house, she finds them outside, surrounded by metal demons on both sides of the street, fighting. Gilbert has hewn walls out of the ground on either side of her house, while Harvey tries to control several Abominations at once. And it's not looking good.
Willow, Gus, and Skara quickly rush to them. While still in flight, Willow creates a magic circle with which she causes powerful thorny plants to shoot out of the ground, which then strike each robot on one of the sides, knocking them out. Skara lands on the other side, summoning her gold-covered harp, with which she begins to play a melodic tune. A red aura surrounds the remaining demons and they freeze in place.
"Willow?", Gilbert asks happily yet in amazement as his daughter lands right in front of him.
"GO INSIDE!", Willow yells. "NOW!"
They do as she says and hurry into the house. Skara follows them slowly walking in reverse as she continues to play her tune throughout. Gus is the last to sprint past her, at which point she also turns and runs into the house as well. As soon as she arrives inside, Willow slams the door shut and grows massive creepers both in front and behind it as an extra barrier between them and the metal demons.
"Willow, where the Titan's name have you been?", Harvey demands to know.
"And what's going on out there? What are those things?", Gilbert wants to know.
"We tried to go looking for you, but-", Harvey wants to continue, but is interrupted by his daughter.
"The Isles are under attack and you have to get out of town, now!", she insists. The two fathers look at her in surprise.
"What do you mean, under attack?"
"Mr. Park-", Skara begins, "You can ask all the questions you want, but you really need to get out of town as soon as possible. Those things you saw out there have overrun the city. They're attacking everything and even kidnapping people."
"They got my dad.", Gus adds silently.
"Please...", Willow pleads to them, "Please grab everything you can. You have to go now!"
"No.", Harvey puts his foot down, "We have to go. Under no circumstances are we leaving you here."
"Dad-"
"Don't argue!", he says, matching her energy, "Your Aunt Liz lives in Latissa."
"That's not an option.", Skara interjects, "Every major city is under siege. You have to go off the grid."
"We can figure something out in a minute. First you have to pack. And then we'll figure it out.", Willow interjects, which their fathers seem content with for now.
"All right.", Harvey says with dissatisfaction in his voice, "We'll go pack right away."
He and Gilbert leave the three friends to pack their bags. The three remaining friends sigh with relief.
"Are your dads always like this?", Skara wonders.
"Not necessarily.", Willow replies, "They're usually more cooperative.", she chuckles.
The three of them suddenly feel a slight vibration. They look at each other in confusion. Skara is the only one who recognizes what the source of it is, because after a moment of rummaging she pulls out a business card.
"It's from Liwin. they found safe place.", she explains.
"Who is Liwin?", Gilbert asks as he rejoins the others with a pack on his back. The three of them almost jump out of their skins.
"PAPA! You can't sneak up on me like that!", Willow shouts, yet a smile graces her face. He laughs at that. "Whatever... Liwin is... a friend of Luz's. We can trust her."
"Okay, if you say so sweetie.", he replies before taking a step forward and pulling Willow into a tight hug. "I'm glad you're okay. All of you."
"Thanks Gilbert."
"Thank you, Mr. Park."
A short moment later, Harvey rejoins the others, carrying a small suitcase. At the exact same second, the five of theirs notice something trying to break down the front door.
"That's our sign. We have to leave!", Willow says.
"But how? There are these things in front of the door...", Gilbert argues.
"Into the living room.", Willow orders them, "Move the table and the carpet."
"Why?", Harvey asks as he and his husband clear the coffee table from the center of the room, as well as the rug underneath. The banging on the front door gets louder, it doesn't seem to be holding much longer.
"If we get through this, we'll need a new floor.", Willow explains in an apologetic tone. Before either of her parents can comment on this, Willow creates a glowing green magic circle, and a total of five giant leaves shoot out of the parquet floor, encircling each of them individually, and pulling them into the ground with all their might.
"They're gone.", Steve announces, just as Willow, Skara, and Gus have disappeared into the floor, "In an impressive way I might add."
"Good.", Liwin breathes a sigh of relief, "As much as I appreciate these kids, they really shouldn't be here."
"With all due respect Diane, but I owe these kids my freedom.", Ruby speaks up, "Not necessarily the plant girl and the small one, but you know what I mean."
"Not only that-", Katya speaks up, "But we still don't know if Luz and Amity made it out."
"Regardless, we're facing gigantic problems.", Raine speaks up.
"Heh, just escaped from prison and already completely involved again.", Katya jokes, at which Raine blushes slightly. They just shake their head slightly.
"Please focus, Katya.", they say sternly, "I mean what I said earlier. We have to get out of the city. Somewhere where we can hide and plan our next steps in peace. Does anyone have any ideas?"
The group lapses into silence for a moment.
"What about our old hideout near Latissa?", Ruby suggests, "When the Emperor's Coven caught me there, everything was cleared out and taken, but it should be out of the danger zone."
"Old warehouse, it's noted. What else?", Liwin asks, "Did the BATS happen to have any hiding places?", she asks Raine, Katya, and Derwin alike.
"None that were this far outside the cities.", Derwin speaks up for the first time since entering the clinic.
"We had a hideout in Latissa, near the police precinct, and one here in Bonesborough in the lower part of town, near the coast.", Katya explains, "The latter was Amber's apartment. Titan, I hope that girl is safe."
"Okay, so it's just the warehouse so far.", Liwin summarizes until a sudden thought occurs to her. "I have another idea, but I'd have to contact someone first. It's a villa, quite a way out of town, not far from the Batqueen forest."
"The Batqueen?"
"It's not hers, if that's what you think.", Liwin clarifies. She looks around once in search of reactions. The others either nod hesitantly or shrug their shoulders indifferently.
Liwin leaves the room to make her call. It takes about five minutes, during which she paces up and down in an adjoining room, trying to convince the person at the other end of her plan. After these five minutes, she returns to the others, who have already been eagerly waiting for her.
"We have to go.", Liwin proclaims, "We're leaving immediately. Everything is already prepared for us there. We'll let the others know as soon as we get there."
A collective nod goes round and they leave the room. Katya and Raine stay a moment longer as she supports them in getting up and walking.
"Feels good not to have to make all the decisions anymore, doesn't it?", Katya asks teasingly. Raine smiles at that.
"From what I've seen so far, she seems like a good leader.", Raine replies, as the two of them slowly make their way to the others, "Definitely better than I was."
"Don't put yourself down. You were great.", Katya nudges them, "It wasn't your fault we got caught. Don't beat yourself up about it."
"Yeah... I'll try."
"Okay, are you all ready?", Liwin asks the group.
"Ready for what?", Steve speaks up, wondering why they're standing on broken tiles surrounded by dirt. Several eyes eyeing him.
"Oh, you're going to hate this.", Ruby chuckles at him, "We're ready!"
All of them can hear a cut off scream from Steve's direction as all of them are completely swallowed up by plants.
The whole process took just under ten minutes in total before they experience fresh air again, as well as the sun's rays through the disintegrating cocoons. Most of them are already used to this type of transportation and therefore emerge from their cocoons quite comfortably. Steve, however, pushed himself against his prison with all his strength and landed face first on the ground outside.
"HA!", Ruby laughs at him mockingly, "Told you you'd hate it."
Suddenly, a new person approaches the group.
"Diane, you're finally here. I'm so glad you guys-", she holds her breath, audibly gasping, "Raine Whispers, is that you?"
Raine has to blink a few times to adjust to the sudden sunlight before they realize who has just spoken and is now approaching them.
"Mrs. Clawthorne?", they ask in surprise before they find themselves in a hug.
"Oh my dear child...", Gwendolyn refuses to let go, as Raine returns the unexpected hug, "I'm so glad to see you. It's been soo long... Time seems to have been good to you."
"Heh, I can only return that."
Liwin suddenly speaks up as the reunion hug breaks up again. "You know each other?"
"Edalyn, my daughter...", Gwen explains, downing the mood on all three of them in an instant.
"I'm soo sorry about what happened.", Raine speaks gently, holding her hand, "I don't even want to imagine how big the loss must have been for you."
"Dell and I, we're... we're coping.", Gwen speaks, trying not to let on that her heart is hurting, "There's one person, though, who I know has been hit harder than anyone."
"I mean, sure, I miss Eda, but-"
"I'm not talking about you, sweetheart.", Gwen interrupts them, causing a confused expression on their face, "Tell me, did you know she had a kid?"
A clearing of the throat interrupts them both. They look up to see five pairs of eyes on them. "Oh, of course.", Gwen says, leaving the confused Raine behind, "Welcome everyone to the Clawthorne Estate. I'll help you in right away and show you where you can sleep. We have enough room for everyone.", she announces, before turning to Raine again, "And when I'm done, I'd like to show you something."
Katya comes to their side again and helps them to walk. Gwendolyn is already a few steps ahead, leading the others into their new accommodation.
The Clawthorne Estate is definitely reminiscent of the Owl House in terms of its design, but it is much larger, quirkier, and older. From the front, several things immediately catch the eye: Firstly, on either side of the main entrance, two four-meter tall owl statues, carved from solid wood, holding up a canopy. Secondly, several meters next to the main entrance is a round window in the wall, more than twice as wide as the front doors are high. Composed of colored glass, the window forms the shape of an eye gazing out over a small pond in front of it. Directly above the main entrance is a second such window, albeit in a slightly smaller form. The third thing that stands out is the absurd number and positioning of windows, roofs, and balconies. The estate has several roofs, either slanted or twisted in on themselves, it has windows that suggest the house has at least seven floors, and on almost every rooftop sits a small wooden figure resembling some kind of bird.
The twenty-five meter tall building is surrounded by trees that tower over the house in almost every direction. Only to the front and back is there a path through the forest that leads to and from the house and connects it to the rest of the world. It is a perfect hiding place. No one dares to go this deep into the forest inhabited by the Batqueen, and as long as no one looks directly into it from above, the area merely looks like a small, inconspicuous clearing, far enough removed from any civilization.
While Katya and Raine follow the others very slowly towards the main entrance, she looks over at them. They seem... lost in thought.
"A snail for your thoughts?", she offers. Raine blinks a few times in her direction.
"What?"
"Heh... You seem distracted."
"Not really. It's just... I haven't been here for a very long time.", they reply with a hint of nostalgia and sadness in their voice.
They remember a time about thirty years ago. Raine and Eda had just turned eighteen, and since their birthdays were quite close together, Eda had the weird idea of sneaking out of her parents' house in the evening and spending the night in the woods. She thought it would be a romantic date, but they were just scared and nothing else. As soon as the sun had gone, darkness took over the forest. Occasional moonlight shone through the leaves high above them, but the eeriest thing was definitely the noises and the constant feeling of being watched. The two fresh adults yet still teenagers eventually ran straight back into the brightly lit house where Eda's parents were already waiting for them. There was no scolding, mainly because shortly after the two, Hawksley, Gwendolyn's palisman came flying through the door. Eda was pissed that her mother was watching the two of them, but Raine was comparatively relieved. She tried to make up for it afterwards, but by then the night was already ruined. And despite everything that happened before or after that day, this is one of the memories they'll never forget.
"Wanna talk about it?", Katya asks, to which Raine only responds with a smile and a shake of their head.
The two of them are the last to step through the front door into a surprisingly cozy room, which perhaps serves as a dining room, based on the relatively large dining table parallel to a decorated rectangular window where eight comfortable-looking, upholstered chairs are placed. Raine gestures with their head to one of them, where Katya takes them straight there, helping them to sit down on it. The other members of the CATS stand in front of the table, their eyes fixed on Gwen and Liwin, who are standing at the top of the first half of a turning staircase that leads to the upper floor.
"Okay friends-", Gwen starts to speak, "Unfortunately we don't have enough beds in the house, however space itself is not a problem. I'll show you all where you can sleep in a moment and then I'll bring you pillows and blankets."
"And I'll go back to town and try to get the rest of us here, plus their families.", Liwin states. "When I get back, we need to sit down together and figure out exactly what to do next."
Liwin's voice, as always when she presents plans or gives a motivational speech, is serious, confident, and commanding, but not too harsh. This time, however, several cracks have appeared in her façade, and correspondingly in her voice. Cracks in her confidence. She is terrified and doesn't know what exactly to do, while at the same time trying to convey optimism.
Raine looks up at Liwin with a raised eyebrow as she descends the stairs and walks past them out the front door, while the others are invited up the stairs by Gwen.
"Come on, I'll give you the grand tour, and then you can make yourselves comfortable until the others are back.", Gwen offers, which almost everyone else accepts. Katya looks at Raine.
"You just go with them.", they speak with a friendly smile. Katya smiles back before joining the others for the tour, leaving Raine behind, relaxing alone in the room.
'Heh, as big as this house is, they won't be back for another thirty minutes. If not later...', they think amusedly, having been on the very same tour all those decades ago, in which Gwen explained every bit of history of this estate to them with an extremely annoyed Eda in tow. Everything from their ancestors from hundreds of years ago who carved the first palisman, to every single extension to the building, and almost all of their known family history. They breathe out, relaxed, and close their eyes for a moment, contemplating whether they want to take a nap, when suddenly the opening of a door sounds nearby.
"By the Titan... well, if my old, tired eyes don't deceive me. If it isn't Raine Whispers..."
Raine recognizes the voice immediately, even after all this time. They open their eyes and a smile graces their face.
"Hello Dell, it's good to see you.", they greet the newcomer. The old man comes out of an adjoining room with a walking stick and approaches Raine with a plate and spoon in his other hand. He places the plate directly in front of Raine and sits down on the chair opposite him with a thump.
"Eat. Gwen had told me that you probably hadn't eaten anything good in a while, so I made you some nice soup. It'll do you good, as bad as you look right now."
Raine laughs at his remark.
"It's just what I get for betraying the Emperor.", Raine replies jokingly, before returning his kind look with gratitude, "Thank you."
Raine picks up the spoon and tastes the soup, which tastes like the most delicious thing they've ever eaten. "Oh my Titan, this is delicious."
Dell smiles slightly at their compliment. "Oh, it's just a simple soup... It's been a while since you've had anything decent to eat, hasn't it?"
"I was lucky if I got something once a day.", they remember, "Twice, if the guards were having a particularly good day."
"I can see that...", with a shaky hand Dell reaches out to Raine's, "Don't worry. You'll recover quickly with us."
"Thank you for your hospitality, for taking us in like this. ... And... I'm sorry about Eda and Lilith."
Dell closes his eyes, a shaking breath escaping him. "Yeah... Me too."
For the next while, the two of them sit quietly together at the dining table. The only sounds are the occasional clink of the spoon against the plate and the soft tapping of the tour group walking through the corridors and rooms of the house. Some time passes before the knock on the front door interrupts the not particularly unpleasant silence. Dell gets up from his chair and walks slowly with his walking stick to the front door, where he can already make out a few voices.
"And you're really sure we're in the right place?", he hears through the door.
"For the sixth time, Dad, yes.", a female voice replies, apparently annoyed.
"But this house is soo... whoa..."
With a smile, he opens the door for the three teenagers and two grown men who are now standing directly opposite him.
"Welcome. We've been expecting you. Please, come in." The group does as asked and Dell closes the door behind them again, "Have a seat. Can I offer you something to eat? I've made some soup."
"Only if it's no trouble-", one of the men speaks up. Dell smiles and disappears back into the adjoining room while the others join Raine at the table.
"I'm glad to see you were able to get your fathers to safety in time.", Raine speaks to Willow, who doesn't look as relieved as they had expected.
"It was... close.", is all she says before the girl, who they remember as Skara, speaks up.
"Have Luz and Amity shown up here yet?", she asks.
"Unfortunately, no. I'm sorry.", Raine replies, at which they notice her and both their friends lower their heads in worry.
"Excuse me-", the man with the bald head and dark beard speaks up, "but you wouldn't happen to be Raine Whispers, the Head Witch of the Bard Coven, would you?"
"Former Head Witch, but yes, that's me.", Raine replies, at which the two men widen their eyes. They could swear that in just a second, the two men became far more nervous than they had been a second ago. "And what are your names if I may ask?"
"Oh, yes. I'm Harvey Park. This is my husband Gilbert. And this here is our daughter Willow, and this-"
"I know. I've already had the pleasure of meeting the.", Raine interrupts him, smiling slightly in an attempt to lighten his nervousness, "I owe them a lot."
"You... them?", Gilbert speaks up, confused.
But before he can ask any more questions, Dell re-enters the room with several plates of soup on a small trolley.
"Food is ready. Please, help yourself.", Dell speaks in a friendly tone before the others each take a plate and start eating.
"So, are you two also members of CATS?", Dell speaks up, pointing at Gilbert and Harvey, "I'm sorry, but I'm not quite in the loop."
"The what?", Harvey asks, confused.
"No, they're not. They're just my dads.", Willow replies, "It's just the three of us."
"I see...", Dell replies after a moment's pause.
"What are the CATS?", Gilbert speaks up. Willow sighs.
"Willow, please tell me it's just a book club or something!", Harvey demands.
"It's a good thing you're already seated, otherwise I would have asked you to sit down.", Raine starts talking, to which Willow gives them a grateful smile, "This all started when-"
"Andrias. Good, you're back."
Darcy stands before one of their lab tables in front of an organic mass that one can only guess what it used to be, their back facing the stairs that Andrias is descending surprisingly quietly.
"Did you enjoy your first strike?", they ask, their body still turned away from him.
"It couldn't have gone better. Not only was I able to find the documents you requested, but-", Andrias stops himself as he steps into a thick, sticky liquid. His gaze slides down, and he is overcome with feelings of disgust and nausea as he stares at all the blood and bile oozing from the pile of slaughtered and mutilated corpses piled up right next to him by the entrance. At Andrias' sudden silence, Darcy turns around, a sickening grin gracing their face.
"As you can see, we've already begun our experiments. And while it has been enlightening, it has not led to our desired goals."
Andrias does his best to ignore the pile of corpses and steps closer to Darcy. In the meantime, his gaze wanders to the empty cage at the side of the lab, which he tries not to pay any further attention to. Instead, he speaks up.
"To understand how the native species use magic?", he guesses.
"No, to break Yunan and tell us where Lady Olivia is hiding.", Darcy replies angrily. They take a deep breath, "The study of these creatures is proceeding as expected."
"If you don't mind me asking... Why is Lady Olivia so important to you? She hasn't proven to be a threat so far."
"The fact that she hasn't been caught yet is a huge vulnerability. If she manages to escape the castle with this knowledge..."
"I understand.", Andrias replies flatly, "In any case, the documents you requested are being transported to the throne room by the Frobots right now and transferred to your systems. All knowledge will be available to you at your next synchronization."
"Excellent."
"Is there anything else I can do for you, my lord?"
"Prepare the terraformers and drills. As soon as we know where the resources of this world are located, we will begin immediately.", Darcy orders. Andrias nods affirmatively and is ready to leave the lab again when Darcy stops him. "And prepare a new group of subjects. We only want the weakest."
"The weakest?", Andrias asks critically, visibly confused.
"You heard us. It's time to subject Yunan to another interrogation."
"Mister? Mister, please wake up. I'm scared."
"Uuuurrrggghhh...", with a heavy groan and a severe headache, Perry gradually regains consciousness. With a booming head, he slowly sits up.
"Careful, mister."
Perry opens his eyes after who knows how long and for the first time he takes in his surroundings. He is sitting on the floor of a cage, too small for him to stand upright. He glances around further, and quickly realizes that it is not night, but that he is in a rather large and rather dark hall, filled with metallic beings guarding many, many other cages besides his, most filled with other witches and demons, but also a few beasts held captive in larger cages.
Three cages next to him, Perry recognizes a full-grown Slitherbeast, which he has never seen in real life before. In horror, he watches as several metallic creatures gather around its cage and start shooting lightning bolts at it until it falls to the ground, completely exhausted. One of the creatures opens the cage door and puts several things on the Slitherbeast that look like purple collars. One around the torso, and one on each leg. Each collar begins to glow purple and from one moment to the next, the Beast seems to have lost all traces of its wildness. The Slitherbeast straightens up silently and calmly remains in its position. The metallic creatures close the cage door again and leave the area.
'What just happened?', Perry thinks to himself.
"Where am I? What happened?", he asks in a whisper.
"You don't know?"
Only now does Perry realize that the voice speaking to him is not only real, but belongs to a frightened little girl. She has arm-length black hair and is wearing a colorful floral dress, but no shoes.
"What's your name?", Perry asks. The girl hesitates for a moment.
"Natalie."
"Hello Natalie. My name is Perry.", he replies in a friendly voice, while the little girl merely fidgets nervously with her dress. "Are your parents here too?"
Natalie shakes her head slightly.
"I- I was playing in the garden with Kim. Mom and Dad were in the kitchen. It's family night tonight.", Natalie recounts in a low voice, "And then- and then these things came from the sky. They sprayed fire and took me away..."
'Oh that poor girl... I can't imagine her parents having survived that.'
"What do you think will happen to us?", Natalie suddenly snaps him out of his thoughts. She has crawled up next to him and is clinging tightly to his arm. He instinctively reaches out in an attempt to calm her down.
"You know, I have a son. He's about twice your age, and I sincerely hope he's not trapped in a cage like this somewhere as well.", Perry starts talking, "I'm fully convinced that he's out there somewhere, safe. Just like your parents. And I have no doubt that we'll see them again.", he watches Natalie's eyes slowly light up, a spark of hope appearing in her eyes, "We'll get out of here, you'll see."
Perry holds his arms open and Natalie immediately jumps in, accepting the comforting embrace.
'I hope you're safe, out there somewhere. By the Titan's name, I swear we'll see each other again. No matter what it takes.'
A surge in activity in the hall makes him sit up.
"NO! YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM! YOU-"
Someone some distance away cried out, followed by an abrupt end and a loud bang. He presses Natalie closer to him.
The screams pile up, coming from all directions. Two cells to his right, Perry spots the metallic creatures opening a cage.
"NOT HER!", she hears an older man scream, "TAKE ME IF YOU WILL BUT SAVE HER!"
The creature grabs a child before the entire cage bursts into flames, burning everything and everyone inside alive. Suddenly a click sounds way to close for comfort.
'No'
The gate of his cage opens, and before Perry can react, a metallic claw shoots forward, grabbing little Natalie, and dragging her out of the cage. She screams like a maniac.
"NATALIE!", Perry yells with all his might, trying to reach for her. He only gets as far as the bars, which make his whole body tense up as he touches them. Only moments pass when Perry loses consciousness and falls flat on the floor. Natalie's panicked screams are the last thing he is able to hear.
"ALSA!", Liwin yells as she pounds her fist against the front door leading into the van Nejd's three-story home in the south of Bonesborough.
Liwin actually didn't come shooting out of the ground right in front of the house, but in a narrow side alley right next door to avoid enemy patrols. Earlier, she successfully tracked down Amber and got her to safety with the others before making her way to Kate and Doug's apartment, which was unfortunately fully burned down by the time she arrived.
"ALSA!", Liwin continues to pound until the door suddenly opens and a hand quickly pulls her inside before the door closes behind her.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Diane?", the slightly younger woman with short, wild, wine-colored hair yells at her angrily, "We're trying to hide from these- these things, and then you come in here and yell like a maniac!"
Alsa's fist is clenched tightly around Liwin's collar, and while the woman tries to compose herself a little, Liwin manages to catch a glimpse past her where she spots Alsa's wife Sarah, as well as her daughter standing at the bottom of a staircase, both of them wearing comfortable looking pyjamas, the latter looking a lot smaller than when they last met. Alsa leans her head slightly to one side.
"How bad is it?", she asks quietly.
"Only Kate and Doug are confirmed. Luz and Amity are probably safe, but currently out of range. The rest are safe with Gwen.", Liwin reports.
"I'm not just talking about our people.", Alsa says, not quite so quietly anymore. Before Liwin can answer, another voice speaks up.
"Alsa, honey. Who is that?", Sarah asks, at which Alsa sighs before turning to her family.
"Sarah, Boscha, this is Diane Liwin. My boss slash good friend."
"And here to get you out of town to safety.", Liwin adds.
"Oh please...", Boscha suddenly snaps, "Surely it's just some rebel group trying to seize power. Why should we leave the city for that?"
At that, Liwin suddenly feels anger rising in her.
"Oh, so you want to stay here?", she asks sarcastically, "Well, then stay here and watch the entire city's infrastructure collapse. Stay here and watch everyone you've ever known get kidnapped or killed on the streets."
"Diane."
"Stay here and watch those metal demons out there roam the streets day and night, just waiting to get you in their clutches."
"ENOUGH!", Alsa yells at her, and the whole house falls into silence. After a few moments, she turns to her family. "Sarah, Boscha, please pack a few things. We're leaving."
Alsa steps away from Liwin and hurries Sarah and Boscha up the stairs, while Liwin stays downstairs and observes the situation outside. Because admittedly, she has made quite a racket earlier, and would hate to be responsible for putting Alsa's family in danger.
A few minutes pass during which Liwin becomes increasingly nervous.
'Where are they?', she taps her shoes impatiently on the floor, while her gaze wanders out of the window every few seconds. Fortunately, the van Nejds come down the stairs at that very moment, each of them carrying a bag of different sizes, as well as wearing more appropriate clothing in the form of jeans and sweaters.
"Okay, we're ready. And how-"
"Shhhh.", Liwin shushes them before gesturing them to quietly walk up to her.
The others join her at the window, where they find several metal demons with weapons drawn, surveying the area just outside her front door. Liwin gives Alsa an apologetic smile, at which she only rolls her eyes. Instead, she gestures to the center of the room, to which Liwin nods in acknowledgement.
Alsa quietly positions herself and her family in the center of the room, and with a loud thump against the door, Liwin draws a magic circle. Mere milliseconds before her plant cocoons close completely, Liwin can catch the image of metal demons breaking down the front door and opening fire. Fortunately, all of them disappear into the ground quickly enough, hopefully before anyone has been hit by them.
The four of them arrive back at the Clawthorne Estate not long after.
"Fuck...", Liwin mutters, noticing a sharp pain in her side. She falls out of her cocoon onto her knees.
"DIANE!", she hears Alsa scream and rush to her side, "You're hurt."
"And it burns like shit!", she mutters through gritted teeth.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
Alsa glances at Liwin's hip, where a glowing hole has pierced smoothly through her body. And somehow her wound seems to be spreading and attacking her skin as well.
'What kind of weapon does that?', Alsa thinks to herself in disgust, before applying a powerful healing spell as well as an anesthetic spell to the wound. 'What the? Normally that's enough...'
The wound may be smaller, but whatever caused it to get bigger before is still there. Alsa draws a larger spell circle, and focuses it directly on the wound. It's definitely more tiring than usual.
Her spell breaks off when she hears Liwin exhale in relief. Alsa needs a moment to collect herself. Liwin puts her hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you.", Liwin says with a smile.
"What happened?", Sarah suddenly speaks up as Liwin struggles to stand up again. Deep down, she was expecting pain, but there was none.
"Metal demons broke down your door just before we escaped. I was closest to them, and I caught their weapon."
"You really weren't kidding...", Boscha mutters, her eyes wide. Liwin merely glares at her.
"Come on.", she begins as she helps Alsa up, "We should get you inside."
The four of them get up and make their way to the main entrance of the Clawthorne Estate. On the way there, Liwin could hear more than one astonished 'whoa' and 'wow'. Before she even reaches the door, however, she overhears angry shouts from inside.
"FOR THE LAST TIME WILLOW, I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"
"WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST YOU AND ME?"
"IT'S DANGEROUS-"
"EVERYTHING IS DANGEROUS RIGHT NOW!"
Liwin has heard enough of this argument as she grabs the doorknob and throws the door open with a bang, immediately bringing all the attention in the room to her and the new arrivals. In front of her, she finds a completely exasperated Willow arguing with one of her fathers. Sitting around her are Skara, Gus, another man, probably Willow's other father, as well as Katya and Amber, who she recently dropped off herself.
In this moment of tense silence, Liwin's gaze falls on Willow, who is staring angrily at something beside her. She follows her gaze, which falls on Boscha. Willow's father breaks the silence as he approaches Liwin, still furious.
"So you're this Liwin I've learned so much about?"
He speaks a little more quietly than before, but the anger in him towards her still boils up with full force.
"That's me.", she replies flatly, eyeing the man who appears to be slightly shorter than her. He glares daggers at her.
"I don't know who you think you are, that it's okay to abuse literal children for your terrorist organization. MY FUCKING OWN DAUGHTER!"
"Sir, this is not a terrorist organization, nor has anyone been abused. Willow, Gus, and Skara joined us voluntarily, with full knowledge of what they were getting into. And they are the most talented witches I have ever met."
"So it wasn't you guys who blew up the Conformatorium?", he demands to know, "Sounds like a fucking terrorist organization to me." Liwin sighs in annoyance.
"I don't have time for this right now...", Liwin mutters before drawing a magic circle in his direction. Mr. Park's eyes suddenly begin to feel heavy as well as his knees giving in as he is slumping to the ground. Liwin grabs him just in time before he bumps his head into something.
"Ms. Liwin?", the other man, presumably Willow's other father speaks up, "I want to apologize profusely for my husband."
"I understand.", Liwin replies with a tired smile, "I'll leave him in your care then."
He nods and sits down on the floor, where he places his husband's head in his lap, stroking it lovingly.
"Where is Gwen? I need to talk to her about where our new arrivals can stay.", Liwin asks the group.
"She's with Mx. Whispers behind the house.", Skara reports, "But she also said that we can sleep wherever there's room and that she'll just bring us pillows and blankets later."
"Very good, thank you.", Liwin replies, before disappearing behind a door and leaving the three van Nejd's to their own devices.
"Everyone-", Alsa speaks up, "This here is my wife Sarah, and this is our daughter Boscha."
While most of those present greet the three sympathetically, Boscha turns her gaze towards Willow, Skara and Gus, who all stare at her with reproachful looks. Definitely reason enough to avoid them.
"So, what did you want to show me?", Raine asks after the two of them have been wandering through seemingly every corridor of the estate for a while. Dell had given them a walking stick for the moment to help them walk until they got their strength back.
"We'll be right there, don't you worry.", Gwen replies. Raine sighs, but doesn't stop.
The two of them stop in front of a door, which Raine remembers used to have a roofed pool behind it.
"What, do you want to go swimming?", they joke. Gwen smiles slightly at that before shaking her head.
"Things have changed a lot since you were last here."
Gwen opens the door, revealing a glass-roofed garden. Everywhere Raine looks, all kinds of plants are rising from the ground and the most beautiful, colorful flowers are growing on bushes. They notice a gravel path running through the garden, with a small stream of water on either side of the path. Raine is utterly awe-struck.
"You were right, this used to be our pool. But after Dell's... accident, and after he couldn't carve new palismen anymore, I wanted to give him something new."
"So you gifted him a garden?", Raine asks softly. Gwen reaches for their hand and together they walk slowly along the path.
"He grew and raised every single one of these plants himself. Most of them are local, but I brought many of them back from my many travels."
"Knowing you, you certainly didn't travel just to go on vacation, did you?", Raine wonders. Gwen nods slightly.
"I was trying to find a cure for Edalyn's curse.", Gwen admits quietly. Raine gives her a gentle look before continuing, "I've traveled all over the Isles and beyond for decades, all in search of anyone and anything who can help. Be it healer or shaman, be it a healing plant or a counter-curse, I've grasped at every thread that has revealed itself to me."
"And everything you found, you took with you."
"Every plant you see here is an attempt to help my daughter. And as beautiful as they are, each one represents my failure.", Gwen speaks grimly. Raine reaches for Gwen's hand, forcing her to stop.
"Please don't blame yourself.", Raine pleads to her, "You did everything you could have. I mean, if you had known who cursed her, maybe you could have gotten information from them."
They notice a tear rolling down her cheek. She motions for them to keep going.
"I do know who did it.", she mutters, "And that knowledge hurts my heart."
Raine's eyes widen in surprise before the two of them walk through an arch of flowery bushes to a small grassy area. At one end a bench, at the other-
"Lilith...", Raine mutters. Gwen closes her eyes and nods slightly. "But... How? When? Why- I mean, Eda was her own sister..."
"I wish I could answer your questions, my dear-", Gwen and Raine are now standing directly in front of Lilith's petrified form, which stands on a pedestal with an inscription:
Lilith - Our beloved daughter who left us far too soon. We deeply regret all the precious moments we missed together. May you find the love in your afterlife that we were unable to give you
Right next to her is another, yet empty pedestal. Also with an inscription:
Edalyn - In loving memory of our daughter and all the moments the curse robbed from our family. May you feel the joy of life in the afterlife that you were not granted in life.
"Come on, I want to sit down.", Gwen gently pulls them with her towards the bench and sits down.
"I... don't know what to say.", Raine takes a while to find any words at all.
"I wanted to see our family together one last time... We - I also tried to bring Edalyn here, but I was always denied...", Gwen says in a sad tone, "You say I shouldn't blame myself, but who else if not me?"
Raine reaches out for a warm hug, which Gwen is only too happy to accept.
"I miss her."
"Me too."
Some time passes, during which the two of them simply sit together in silence and enjoy each other's presence.
"Gwen, I need to ask you something.", Raine speaks up. She looks up at them curiously. "You said earlier that Eda had a child..."
At that, Gwen unexpectedly starts laughing briefly, confusing Raine in the process.
"Yes, that's what I said, but it's not what you think it is.", Gwen replies, leaving Raine still confused, "Her name is Luz. You've probably heard that name before."
"Yes, several times actually.", Raine replies, at which Gwen just nods.
"I had a chance to talk to her for a while, and she was probably closer to Edalyn than the two of us together. When- it- happened, she was there, trying to do everything in her power to save her. She even went so far as to attack Belos personally."
"She would never have stood a chance..."
"Don't be so sure, dear.", Gwen speaks with a knowing tone, "Sooner or later you'll meet her. But for now, let's go back to the others, all right?"
"Okay."
A good few hours have passed since Boscha and her moms entered the Clawthorne's house, and at first she was absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer size, considering that only two people live here, even though thirty people could easily live here. And currently do.
At the moment, Boscha is lying on a lounger on the balcony on the third floor, having just watched the sun set behind all the trees while the first stars gradually appear in the sky.
The air around her is also starting to get cooler, and she's thinking about going back inside, if she wasn't out here trying to avoid everyone and basically hide from the world. After all, that's what she deserves after all she's done, right?
A knock on the glass door to the balcony terrace brings her out of her thoughts and back to reality. Her mother Sarah is standing at the door.
"What do you want, mother?", Boscha asks with barely any venom in her voice.
"Aren't you cold out here, sweetheart?"
"I'm fine.", she replies unconvincingly. Fortunately, her mother knows her well enough to know when to just leave her alone.
"Alright.", her mother replies after a silent sigh, "I just wanted to let you know that your mom and the others are having some kind of meeting and I'm going to go to sleep in our room."
"You do that. Sleep tight."
"Love you, honey."
"Love you too.", Boscha calls after her before the latching of the door lets her fall back into her lonely hell. She leans back in her lounger and stares up into the rising night sky. She thought about scrolling soullessly on Penstagram in the meantime, but when she received dozens upon dozens of hate messages after her stunt, that died as an option for now.
"UUURRRRRRGGGHHHH!", Boscha groans, but less out of annoyance and more out of boredom. With a swing, she sits up straight.
'If I don't have anything to do anyway, I might as well eavesdrop on the morons at their stupid meeting.'
She stands up and walks lamely to the glass door, but not before the feeling of being watched creeps over her. A shiver runs through her whole body as she turns in shock towards the forest that surrounds the house. And for a fraction of a second, she could swear she saw several pairs of bright glowing eyes.
That she hurried back into the house in an instant comes as little surprise.
Boscha walks down the steps to the second floor before sitting down on the top steps of the staircase leading to the first floor, where the eleven present members of the CATS can be heard quietly but clearly.
"Okay, so everyone should be on the same page now.", Liwin explains.
"Too bad Kate and Doug didn't make it...", Boscha hears her mom's voice talking, sounding dejected.
"That, and we still have no sign of Luz and Amity.", she hears Skara explain, "Amity said they're safe, but we don't know where they are."
Boscha huffs at that annoyed. 'Of course Amity and her human are part of this too. What a surprise...'
"I texted with Amity again earlier, and she said that Luz seems to be pretty fragile at the moment, but will probably still try to come here tomorrow. Amity herself won't, though.", Gus reports, at which Boscha raises a curious eyebrow.
"Understandable.", her mother says, "Poor girl. I couldn't imagine what would happen if-"
'Something happened to Amity?', Boscha wonders in confusion before shaking her head, huffing in indifference, 'As if I care...'
"Well, without the intel those two got-", Liwin starts, but is interrupted by Willow.
"Plus what Luz can tell us about this Andrias guy.", she interjects.
"Yeah, that too. Without that, I'm afraid there's not much we can do right now. So I suggest we postpone this meeting until tomorrow and we all get a good night's sleep, because by Titan, all of us deserve that after this day."
After hearing everyone agree and starting to come up the stairs in her direction, Boscha gets up in a slight panic and hurries to her room, where her mother is already fast asleep. Boscha takes a deep breath before lying down in her sleeping bag, giving her plushie, which she has rescued from home, a kiss and hugging it close to her chest.
She closes her eyes and tries to drift off to sleep when she suddenly overhears familiar voices from the other side of the wall.
"Was it just me, or what was that Boscha at the top of the stairs?", she hears Gus's voice through the wall.
"No, I saw her too.", Skara confirms.
"What's she doing here anyway?", Willow asks with uncharacteristic amounts of venom in her voice.
'Of course the three of them are back together... ugh'
"You know exactly why she's here. Alsa is her mother, and she wants her family to be safe.", Skara replies with probably more understanding than Boscha deserves.
'You go, girl.', Boscha cheers at her inwardly, though somewhat surprised at her response.
"But I just don't get it.", Willow speaks up again, sounding infuriated, "How can a woman as nice and kind as Alsa be a mother to a piece of shit like Boscha?"
Boscha doesn't respond, but continues trying to listen. She hears Skara's voice again.
"I-I don't know.", the bard witch replies, leaving Boscha dejected, "Until last week, I would have said she was just a complicated person."
"And today?", Gus asks. Skara ponders for a moment.
"We all know what she did. I don't regret for a second cutting her out of my life. I mean, imagine what would have happened if I'd been as loyal to her as Cat, then maybe I'd be in a coma right now and not her..."
Boscha suddenly notices a knot forming in her throat, alongside regret filling her mind once again. Just as it has been for her since that day.
"Do you think she feels guilty about what she did?", Gus wonders, "Or even remorseful?"
Her inner voice remains silent at this accusation, while her gaze wanders down to her wrist. She raises her sleeve a little, where she stares at her glowing sigil.
"Didn't you see her walk in here with her moms earlier?", Willow replies, "Never in her life has that girl ever felt guilt or remorse for her actions."
Boscha suddenly notices how her vision begins to blur slightly as tears begin to form in her eyes. But Willow continues.
"I'm just glad she hasn't dared to open her mouth and come at me with some stupid shit since she's been here. I swear I wouldn't have held back."
"Yeah...", Skara adds, seemingly agreeing to Willow's statement, as it seems like the conversation has ended.
"I miss my dad.", is the last thing Boscha hears before she decides to move her sleeping bag away from the wall, incomprehensible tears falling from her face to the floor. It takes a long time before she is exhausted enough for her body to finally allow her to fall asleep.
"When do you think Yunan will be back?"
"Shut up!"
"I'm just saying that she's been gone for a while now. Probably several hours now."
"I said shut your fucking mouth, for frog's sake!", Grime yells at Toadstool, at which the toad appears to be taken aback.
"Why so mad, Grime?", Toadstool asks, wondering how much he can continue to tease the former captain until he snaps at him. Grime sighs at that.
"Five hours.", he says quietly.
"Huh?"
"They took her five hours ago.", Grime clarifies. Toadstool is confused.
"How do you know that?"
"Been counting.", Grime replies as if that explains everything.
"I'm worried, you know?"
"Really?", the former captain asks skeptically.
"Don't screw with me, I'm serious.", Toadstool replies, annoyed, "That thing literally tortured people to death last time-"
"Don't remind me!"
"My point is that I don't think even someone like Yunan could go through something like that again."
"You know her reputation, Toadstool. Absolutely nothing can hurt her."
"Not physically, that's probably true. That's probably why the thing isn't torturing Yunan directly for information. It wants to break her psychologically. I'm sure you wouldn't do anything differently in the same situation- ufff"
Grime stands directly in front of Toadstool, who has just rammed his fist into his stomach with full force.
"Never compare me to that monstrosity ever again!", he threatens him.
The argument between the two toads comes to a swift end as they hear noises from outside their cell.
"Changing of the guards?", Toadstool asks, at which Grime shakes his head after pressing an ear against the cell door, listening.
"Two Frobots, and something smaller. That thing, probably.", Grime guesses, "They're dragging something behind them."
They stop right in front of the cell, at which Grime instantly retreats. The cell door snaps open, and the two Frobots throw Yunan's body into the cell, leaving a very pleased-looking Darcy standing in the doorway.
"Thank you, General.", they grin wickedly, blood covering almost their entire body, their orange glowing eyes looking directly at Grime and Toadstool, "The information she has given us will prove most valuable."
And with that, the cell door closes with a loud bang and Grime and Toadstool immediately rush to Yunan, whose whole body seems to be trembling.
"Yunan, what happened?", Grime tries to reach out, but when his arm touches her shoulder, she jerks violently away from him, her gaze trembling. He cautiously removes his hand. He wants to say a few comforting words to her, but before he can even think of what to say, Yunan rushes to her feet and sprints to the hole in the corner of the cell that serves as a toilet, loudly emptying the contents of her stomach before she begins screaming and collapses, violently sobbing. Grime and Toadstool exchange pitying looks before wordlessly deciding to let Yunan come down and let it all out before asking what happened. Though if they were honest, they already know the truth. This thing broke her.
Some time passes, filled with nothing but violent sobs, cries, and screaming. At first just minutes passed, then hours, until Yunan eventually managed to calm down and become a little quieter. Over time, her cries and sobs were replaced by a kind of mumbling that neither Grime nor Toadstool could understand at first.
"... Finley. Charlotte. Nate. Sven. Sal. Diego. Natalie. Rogue. David. Edmond. Svenja. Suri. Lyla. Brooke. Nori. Laura. Daniel. Lily. Annika. Liam.", she mutters over and over again. Grime and Toadstool look at her worriedly as she lifts her head for the first time and looks at them with a trembling, tear-filled gaze. "They're all dead.", she whispers.
"Who are-"
"THEY WERE JUST CHILDREN!", Yunan yells with all her might at which the two toads widen their eyes before the newt bursts into tears again.
It doesn't take much imagination to put one and one together to imagine what the general has had to endure over the last couple of hours.
"No wonder she's so wrecked.", Toadstool mutters barely audibly, his gaze locked onto Grime's. He turns to her.
"So you told them everything?", he asks, at which she merely nods.
"I- I-", Yunan stutters between sniffles, "I was hoping to save the children... I told everything. Everything I knew."
"And it didn't make a difference?"
Yunan shakes her head slightly.
"And Lady Olivia?", Grime asks.
"Doesn't matter anymore.", Yunan replies, her voice devoid of any energy, "If she's smart, which she is, she's already gone."
"And the plan? If you told that thing everything-", Toadstool asks, at which Yunan shakes her head.
"I never knew the plan.", Yunan admits. A moment of silence fills the cell.
"What exactly do you mean with 'she's gone'?"
"Mittens... Mittens, wake up.", Alador gently shakes Amity's shoulder, who is lying on the couch wrapped tightly around her girlfriend, fast asleep.
"mmm...", Amity's face contorts as she's slowly waking up, "Dad?", she asks in a sleepy voice, "What's wrong? Why are you waking me up?"
"The sun will be up soon.", he explains in a whisper, "And we still have a long way to walk before we get home."
"No, we don't.", Amity replies as she slowly untangles herself, trying not to wake up Luz. Alador looks at her in confusion. Amity sits up straight, and after making sure Luz is still asleep, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a piece of paper, which she shows to her father. He is still confused, but curious. "This is a shortcut that will take us straight to Blight Manor."
"A piece of paper?", Amity rolls her eyes at that.
"Let me show you."
Quietly, the youngest Blight gets up and leads Alador to the main entrance, which exits outside into the lightly snow-covered ground. A single lantern hangs on the outside of the cabin, illuminating a small area just outside the door.
The air outside is quite cold, which is hardly surprising given the time of day. Amity holds the drawing before drawing a purple circle of magic, and using Abomination fluid she draws the same glyph one-to-one in the snow. Bit by bit, a complex glyph with a diameter of almost three meters is drawn into the snow. Alador watches her curiously.
"And what exactly is that?", Alador asks after Amity has finished her spell, observing the glyph in its entirety.
"It's Luz's teleport glyph.", Amity explains, "Don't ask me how exactly it works, but it'll get us straight home. And if you want, we could leave right now."
"And you're sure you know exactly how to use it?", he asks with a slight doubt in his voice.
"Yes, Dad. Luz explained it to me."
Alador looks thoughtfully back and forth between Amity and the glyph in the snow for a few moments. He sighs in acceptance.
"Okay, I'll go check on Emira. She insisted on not leaving your brother's side."
Amity contorts her face in disgust at that. "Won't he start to smell at some point?"
"I thought so too."
Alador turns away to re-enter the hut, leaving Amity standing outside for a few minutes, until she begins to shiver due to the cold, and also re-enters the hut, closing the door behind her.
Amity passes the stairs to the upper floor, from where she can hear quite a bit of commotion.
"NO!", she hears Emira yell, followed by a loudly slamming door, and muffled, violent sobs.
"Emira! Open the door!"
"YOU'RE NOT TAKING HIM!"
"Emira."
'Yeah, better not interfere.', Amity thinks to herself and continues into the lounge, where Luz is still fast asleep on the couch. Amity exhales in relief at the sight before sitting down beside her. As if by instinct, Luz's arm reaches out and grabs Amity's waist, hugging her. Despite her slight surprise, a smile appears on her face and she strokes Luz's hair tenderly. Her smile fades seconds later and she looks sadly at her sleeping girlfriend.
The two of them remain in this position for a while until the background noise from above gradually subsides. She takes her hand off Luz's head.
"Don't stop...", Amity hears Luz whine softly, her eyes still closed. Amity smiles at that sight.
"Hey, you're awake...", Amity speaks softly.
"No talky, more head-scratchy."
Amity does as she's asked, at which Luz just humms happily. A sound that melts her heart instantly. She continues for a few minutes.
"How are you feeling?", Luz asks her, eventually. Luz sits up straight, before hugging Amity from behind.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that? After all, you've knocked yourself out pretty badly.", Amity asks, at which Luz shakes her head.
"I asked you first."
"Okay.", she relents, "Honestly, I don't know. I mean, I'm glad that you are safe, but apart from that..."
"You feel numb?"
"Kinda. I don't know..."
"Yeah, it often takes a while for the realization to sink in.", Luz explains.
"So, how are you doing? How do you feel?", Amity now asks, changing the unpleasant subject.
"Better. More awake.", Luz replies, before Amity stands up and turns to her.
"Can you stand up for me?", she holds her hands out to her. Luz accepts them without hesitation and rises from the couch, only to fall into Amity's arms moments later.
"Careful."
"Sorry, sorry.", Luz apologizes. A few seconds later, Luz stands upright in front of her, still holding her hands. For Amity, however, that's good enough.
"Great.", she exclaims, "Otherwise my abomination would have had to carry again."
As if on cue, Luz's legs give way and she drops to the floor. Amity laughs lightly at that, which also makes Luz smile in return.
"Oh no, my legs. They were still working a moment ago... Now I'll have to be carried..."
"Heh, I think I would have carried you anyway.", Amity admits, before summoning an Abomination to gently pick Luz up off the ground.
"Yay.", she says, kicking her feet slightly, before her mood abruptly dims down, "Oh by the way, how are Emira and your dad coping?"
As if the universe wants to answer this question for her, the two of them watch Alador descend the stairs with Edric's lifeless body in his arms, followed by Emira, who looks like she's been crying the whole time. When she spots them, she gives Luz an angry and reproachful stare before following her father.
"What was that?", Luz asks, at which Amity merely shrugs her shoulders.
Amity leads the abomination carrying Luz outside, where Emira and Alador are already waiting for them.
"You must stand on the glyph. But try not to step on the lines.", Amity explains. Luz smiles at her, happy that she remembers. They do as told, before Amity kneels down in the snow, right at the edge of the teleport glyph. She takes a deep breath, trying to clear her head and focus on her destination. The image of Blight Manor pops into her mind. She leans forward and hammers both her hands into the snow, activating the glyph. The drawn lines quickly begin to glow, and before she knows it, a bright, blinding light surrounds all of them.
When the light fades again, they no longer find themselves in a dark forest surrounded by snow, but directly in front of Blight Manor. But also in the dark.
"It worked.", Amity celebrates. Luz chimes in as Emira suddenly storms into the house and slams the door loudly behind her, startling the others. The two girlfriends hear Alador sigh exhaustedly before speaking up.
"Thank you two.", he turns to them, "I have to take care of... things now."
"Dad?", Amity asks concerned, at which he faces her. "Are you okay?"
He looks down at the boy in his arms, at which Amity immediately realizes how stupid her question actually is.
"As long as you and Emira are okay, I'm okay.", he says, before slowly entering the house as well. Luz and Amity look at each other in confusion, given the state Emira was in earlier. Luz shifts herself to sit upright, prompting Amity to let her down onto the ground on her own feet. She takes her by the hand and they follow the others in, closing the door behind them.
Standing in the doorway to the living room, they see neither Emira nor Alador around. What they do hear immediately is the sound of breaking glass, furniture being destroyed, and the eerily loud cries of desperation coming from the direction of Emira's room. Again, they exchange worried glances before making their way there. Luz knocks on their door.
"Emira, are you okay?", she asks. The noise stops abruptly. The door opens and a furious Emira steps out, grabbing Luz by her throat, pushing her against the railing.
"HOW DARE YOU ASK ME HOW I'M DOING? IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT MY BROTHER IS DEAD!", she screams at her, before finding herself grabbed by an Abomination and thrown back into her room. It slams the door shut and freezes in front of it for safety. Staring straight ahead, Luz lets herself slide along the railing to the floor.
"Luz? Luz!", Amity's voice is filled with panic, "Did she hurt you? I swear to titan, if she-"
"I'm okay.", Luz replies quietly. Nevertheless, Amity notices a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She kneels down beside her, facing her, and wipes a tear from her face.
"Come on, let's go to my room."
Amity helps Luz to stand up, casting a passing glance at her throat in search of traces of the attack. Relief washes over her when she finds none. Amity supports Luz up to her room, where she sets her down on her bed.
As soon as Luz is seated, however, she takes out her scroll and opens her contacts.
"You wanna call someone?"
"Viney.", Luz answers before starting the call.
"Do you even know how early it is?", she recognizes the tired, annoyed face of the healer witch on her scroll, "We may be hiding, but sleep is still important."
"It's about Emira.", Luz gets straight to the point, "She needs you. Now."
"Luz, it's nice that you care about my relationship, but-"
"Edric is dead."
The line remains silent for several seconds.
"What?"
"There was nothing more I could do for him. Please Viney, I know it's early, and you and your family are-"
"I'll be right there."
The call ends abruptly. Luz stares at her scroll for a few seconds before rolling it up and tucking it away. She leans her head on Amity's shoulder, sighing.
"Are you sure you're okay?", Amity asks, "I can tell something's bothering you."
"She's not wrong.", Luz replies, her gaze fixed on the floor.
"Emira... or Viney?", Amity asks, secretly already knowing the answer.
"Emira. She's right. It's my fault..."
"No, it's not.", Amity states clearly, "You did everything in your power to save him. And I mean everything."
Luz shakes her head at that. "That's not what I mean."
Amity raises a confused eyebrow at her. She continues.
"Andrias.", Luz says, "He only knows about the Boiling Isles because of me."
"How?"
"Through Marcy. We- we saw her... I think.", Luz thinks for a moment, "When I was in Amphibia, I told her everything about this world, everything I knew and loved, and she just-", she cuts herself off.
"You know very well that what we saw wasn't Marcy.", Amity recalls, "You told me she was an incredibly friendly, helpful, and definitely nerdy girl. I actually imagine her being somewhat like you, from everything you've told me."
"So she really is about to destroy the world I love, or what? That she's really dead? Her body possessed by some... thing?", Luz asks, her mind somewhat panicking.
"We don't know.", Amity answers firmly, "But you definitely can't blame yourself for all this. You could never have guessed that this could happen."
Luz frowns at that. "I guess..."
"Do you want to try sleeping again for a few hours?", Amity asks, trying to distract her from her thoughts.
"No, I'm too awake for that.", she replies, a smile creeping onto her face, "But I wouldn't mind watching the sunrise with you."
"Okay."
The two girls each grab a cozy blanket and leave the room again. They pass Emira's room, from where they can hear Viney's voice.
'Wow, that was really quick...'
They walk through the living room, past the stairs to Alador's lab and the kitchen, and then up the stairs to the roof terrace, where they sit warmly snuggled up on two comfortable seats, looking out into the horizon.
For about thirty minutes, until the first shades of light appear on the horizon, the two girls remain in an extremely comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's presence and warmth.
Suddenly, Amity has a thought, throwing both of them back to reality.
"I almost forgotten: I was texting with Gus, roughly telling him what happened. The CATs are apparently all safe, and trying to come up with some sort of plan against Andrias."
"Oh? That's good.", Luz comments, sounding absent-minded.
"Do you want to go to them later and tell them what we saw?", Amity asks.
"You don't want to go?"
"I should stay here. Em and Dad are definitely not well. And I want to be there for them.", Amity replies, to which Luz nods respectfully.
"And are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?"
"Yes. The CATs need your knowledge of Andrias, and I... need some time to think.", Amity says quietly.
"Okay.", Luz agrees, her voice soft, "But that can wait a few more hours. They're probably not awake yet anyway..."
A few hours pass, during which Luz and Amity simply watch the sunrise. They talked a bit more about their friends, about them having made it to safety, until at some point they did get up and Amity accompanied Luz to the main entrance.
"Have you got your teleport glyph?", Amity asked.
"Yes, Ammy.", Luz replies, showing her the glyph for the third time since she drew it.
"Okay, I just want to make sure that you-"
"- that I don't use my magic until I'm fully recovered. I know.", Luz finishes her sentence before pulling her close for a brief kiss.
"Sorry, I'm just worried.", Amity replies as the kiss breaks up again.
"I know. I love knowing that you care.", Luz says with a soft smile on her face. Amity has the urge to kiss her again when suddenly there is a series of explosions in the direction of the nearby forest. The two girls' eyes immediately turn to the sky, where they see a swarm of flying Frobots flying over the forest.
Luz narrows her eyes.
"They're shooting at each other?", she asks, confused. Amity turns to face her. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yes, but please don't do too much."
Amity draws a purple magic circle while golden lightning flashes dance across Luz's arms. Abomination vines burst from the ground in front of them, shooting rapidly towards the fleeing Frobot. At the same time, some of the trees begin to glow slightly, their branches shooting skywards and destroying one Frobot after another.
Amity's Abomination vines encircle the fleeing Frobot, pulling it quickly to the ground, directly towards them until it slams into the ground with a loud bang.
"Stop.", it speaks, "I surrender."
Luz and Amity stop in their tracks in utter confusion.
"What?", Luz whispers. Amity directs her Abomination slime to the Frobot's head, which she rips off with ease. There is a person inside the Frobot. "Lady Olivia?"
Amity creates a sharp abomination blade and presses it tightly against the Newt's throat.
"You know her, Luz?", the witch asks, her furious gaze never wavering from her target.
"We've met."
"Please, I'm not here to cause trouble. I want to help.", Lady Olivia pleads, not daring to move more muscles than necessary.
"You serve the king.", Luz states coldly, "Why should we believe you?"
"Not anymore. I managed to escape the palace.", Olivia explains, feeling the blade right against her skin, "After what he did to Amphibia, General Yunan and I broke away and worked on a plan to stop him and Darcy."
"You have a plan to stop him?", Luz asks incredulously. Olivia hesitates.
"... No.", she admits shamefully, "B-but I have knowledge of Andrias' plans. I know what they're planning, how they're set up, and I'm willing to share it all. That's why the other Frobots were after me. Andrias and Darcy must have found out about my escape plan..."
"Could be a trap.", Amity is definitely not convinced.
"Please, I'll do anything to stop them. Too many people have died already. Take me prisoner if you must, just please, let me help."
"As if you have a choice in the matter.", Amity threatens her. Luz places a hand on Amity's blade, pushing it carefully away from Lady Olivia. She turns to Luz. "You don't believe her, do you? She could be a spy."
"Even if she is, she has information I need.", Luz answers her before turning back to Olivia, "If you want us to trust you, we need proof. We saw Marcy, or whatever that was-"
"That's Darcy. An ancient being that has taken your friend's body as a host.", Olivia explains. Luz swallows at that information, now even more nervous about her next question.
"What about Anne? She originally had the Music Box. What about the Plantars? Are they okay?"
Olivia lowers her gaze, causing Luz's heart to ache.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know the details. I wasn't there when Andrias got the Music Box. And I'm afraid the bad news doesn't end there.", Olivia pauses briefly, "Not long after he got to the box, he launched a widespread attack on Frog Valley. He burned it all to the ground."
"What?", Luz asks in a low voice.
"Any survivors?", Amity demands to know.
"Possibly. Andrias built factories there that were repeatedly sabotaged. I assume there are still some survivors hiding somewhere."
"But you don't know who and where?", Luz asks heartbroken, at which Olivia merely shakes her head. "Andrias told us Anne was dead, but I refuse to believe that."
"You shouldn't believe anything that comes out of his mouth.", Olivia states firmly. Luz turns to Amity, who already knows what she wants to say.
"I know. And it might even help us.", she tells her with a knowing smile.
"What could help?", Olivia asks, at which Amity shoots her another hostile look.
"None of your business!", she snaps at her, before turning back to Luz.
"I might even have two ideas about what I could do differently next time.", Luz tells her, "But first we should get her out of this thing."
Amity nods at her. She draws two purple magic circles that lift the Frobot case out of the ground and split it in two at the seams, freeing Lady Olivia. Moments later, a pair of Abomination shackles form around each of her hands and legs, which causes her to drop to her knees.
"I'll take the pieces to Dad. Let's see what he can do with them.", Amity suggests, "And where are we taking her?"
"We're not leaving her here.", Luz says in a tone that Olivia doesn't like, "She wouldn't last long here."
"What's that supposed to mean?", Olivia asks.
"She lost her brother and mother at the beginning of the invasion.", Luz says, after which Olivia's eyes widen.
"I'm- I'm sorry for your loss.", she says, at which Amity just huffs.
"Save your breath."
"Ammy, I'll take her to the Owl House. Hooty can keep an eye on her there."
"Okay, good. The sooner she's out of my sight, the better.", Amity says with a heavy sigh, "And Luz? Be careful."
"I will. I'll see you later.", Luz says as Amity heads back towards Blight Manor. "Love you."
"I love you too.", Amity calls back, closing the door behind her.
Luz's gaze lingers on the door for a few more seconds before she turns back to Lady Olivia.
"I don't suppose you have any kind of flying device? Or are we walking to this... Owl House?", Olivia asks. Instead of answering, however, Luz grabs a stick and begins to draw a teleport glyph on the ground.
Once she's finished, she helps Olivia up and leads her straight onto it. Luz kneels down and activates the glyph, which surrounds them both with a bright light. With no sense of time having passed, the two of them find themselves in front of the Owl House.
"Whoa... How-"
"Magic.", Luz replies as she too sees a certain house demon.
"LUUUUZ!", Hooty exclaims, quickly slithering in her direction, and she wraps him in a warm and tight hug. "Luz, you're not going to believe this. While you were gone, I found a bug family on their way to vacation. But then a bird threatened them and, brave as I am, I let them seek shelter in my mouth. Being helpful was very delicious."
Lady Olivia looks back and forth between Luz and the demon with a disturbed expression on her face, not understanding how she doesn't go crazy over something like this. She leans a little closer to Luz.
"Umm... what exactly is that?", she asks, nudging her head towards Hooty.
"OH MY HOOT! A guest?", Hooty screams shrilly, at which Luz just chuckles.
"Hooty, this is Lady Olivia. Lady Olivia, this is Hooty, the loyal resident house demon.", Luz introduces them, her voice now far less hostile than it was a few seconds ago, "Hooty, please remove her shackles."
"Yes, ma'am!", he salutes(?), before biting through the abomination shackles.
"I am... confused. And disturbed, but mostly confused.", Lady Olivia confesses.
"Understandable. But come in first."
Luz leads her, accompanied by Hooty, into the Owl House. Once inside, Luz reaches into her jacket pocket, from where she pulls out a sleepy Owlbert.
"Hey, little buddy.", she caresses him as he slowly wakes up. His eyes widen as he spots Lady Olivia standing in the room, who is eyeing the furnishings and decorations with interest.
"Lady Olivia?", Luz calls out, catching her attention, "I have to leave for an important meeting. I don't know how long it will take or when I'll be back, but you'll stay here for the time being. There's a bathroom up the stairs, and down the hall there's a kitchen where you can help yourself. Owlbert here will let you know if you get too close to an area that's off limits to you."
"I see."
"I'm not done yet.", Luz interrupts her, "Don't try to contact anyone or leave the house. If you do, Hooty will eat you. Do we understand each other?"
Lady Olivia looks hesitantly at Hooty, who is chasing after a bird outside and makes it disappear in his beak with just one bite. She swallows hard before nodding, slightly intimidated.
"Very well. When I get back, we'll have a long talk."
Luz doesn't wait for an answer on her part, merely pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and closing her eyes before pressing it to her chest and vanishing into thin air in a glare.
'Absolutely remarkable...', she comments inwardly before her mind wanders off, 'Yunan, I hope you're okay. We will meet again. I know we will.'